Razer’s Nabu – A Wearable With Style And Purpose

CES 2014 is littered with wearables. Even ThinkComputers’ own Mark Howland has been rocking a Galaxy Gear all week. Upon first seeing Nabu, it didn’t seem like anything different than what’s already on the market. But Razer’s vision for Nabu, Simplicity, Functionality, and Privacy, is completely different than anything that’s currently on the market.

Simplicity and Functionality. Nabu has a sleek look that doesn’t attract attention. When its screens are off, the band is completely blacked out, similar to Nike’s FuelBand. Nabu features an accelerometer and altimeter. So when you’re walking, playing games, sleeping, or eating, Nabu is most likely collecting data about your activities. What Nabu can do with that data is completely up to developers, Razer is going to have an open platform for developers to harness Nabu’s metrics.

Privacy. Wearables are pretty new, and there hasn’t been too much discussion about how to secure all of the private data flashing on your wrist. Razer has addressed privacy by creating Nabu with two OLED screens. The top screen just shows notifications, whereas the bottom will display Caller ID, text messages, and other more personal data. Nabu can also understand basic gestures. For example, if you’re getting a call and can’t answer it, you can shake your wrist to send the caller to voicemail.

Razer hasn’t released public pricing or release data available for Nabu. But if you’re a developer with an iOS or Android device, you can apply for a $50 Nabu through Razer’s website.